Caught in the Storm
by Xiin
Summary: [HPxCCS, HBPcompliant] Sakura and Syaoran have been invited to England by Eriol for a quiet vacation. However, things get out of hand and they suddenly find themselves in the middle of the Second War between Voldemort and the rest of the wizarding world.
1. Prologue

**CAUGHT IN THE STORM**

Summary: HPxCCS, HBP-compliant Sakura and Syaoran have been invited to England by Eriol for a vacation. Things suddenly spin wildly out of control and they find themselves embroiled in a decades-old conflict as the Second War escalates and spills over in the Muggle world.

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Card Captor Sakura belongs to me. They belong to JK Rowling and CLAMP, respectively. I borrow for my own amusement.

---------------------------

Sakura dreamed.

There were three people in the room.

One—a boy who looked to be around her age, with jet-black hair, messy like Syaoran's. They parted so she could see the outline of a jagged scar. His eyes were green and expressive, much like hers. He sat on the floor, unmoving, with a face chiseled by shock.

There was an old man on the floor, repeating the words, "Severus… please…" over and over and over. His long beard seemed to drag his head to the floor with its weight.

The last man was in black, breathing heavily. His pale skin shone with sweat. He grasped a long, thin stick in his extended hand. He looked as if he were in great pain.

In a moment, he shouted two words and then there was only green light. A rushing of wings. In her ears, she could hear screams.

"_Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry! Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"_

"_Kill the spare!"_

"_Have mercy… have mercy…"_

---------------------------_  
_

"... now approaching Heathrow Airport. Please make sure that your seatbelts are securely fastened and your cellular phones turned off until the plane has reached a complete stop. It has been a pleasure serving all of you and we hope to see you again very soon. Have a pleasant stay at London."

Sakura stirred uneasily from her sleep. "Are we there yet?" she mumbled to Syaoran.

"Almost," Syaoran replied, patting his girlfriend of many years. "Come on, you can sleep at Hiiragizawa's house later."

"Eriol." Sakura corrected almost immediately.

"Whatev--Eriol it is, then," he said hastily. "Let's go. We should beat the crowd."

Sakura returned to her dream, wondering who the green-eyed boy must be and what that green light meant, and got up in a daze. Syaoran steered her out of the airplane and through the airport. One of the advantages of being friends of the reincarnation of Clow Reed was that they got first-class tickets, which also meant they got their bags after only a few minutes of waiting. _Well, at least he's good for something_, Syaoran thought, amused, and was promptly shaken out of his musings when the couple before them moved and it was his and Sakura's turn. He offered their passports to the officer, who began typing down information rapidly.

"Well, everything seems to be in order," the officer grinned under his moustache. He handed Syaoran back the passports. "Welcome to London, Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto."

---------------------------

"Oooh, I can't wait to see Sakura-chan and Li-kun again! It's been a long time since I saw anyone from Japan." Nakuru expressed jovially, standing behind Eriol who was carefully perusing the headline of the newspaper.

"I can safely say that's true for all of us," her master replied, smiling a bit. "Although, given these recent happenings, I wonder whether I should have postponed this visit until next year."

"Yes, they are rather ominous," Spinel Sun remarked, glancing at the front page from Eriol's left shoulder. "Hurricane in Newquay, unexplainable murders left and right, mysterious fog even in daylight, waking nightmares that puzzle psychologists--rather like the events of earlier this year, except they've escalated into a dangerous frequency over the weeks."

"I'd like to think that these are just coincidences," Eriol said, "but as you said, ominous indeed."

"Oh, stuff it, you two," Nakuru berated. "We haven't seen Sakura and Li-kun in years. You shouldn't make this visit uncomfortable for them!"

Tense atmosphere broken, Eriol smiled. "You're right, Nakuru. Ah, I do believe that's them."

"Oooh, where?"

"Over there by the doors. They look a bit lost."

The couple in question did indeed look confused. The tall, brown-haired man scanned the vicinity for their escort who was currently hidden behind his newspaper, smiling mischievously. His girlfriend, a petite young lady dressed in a modest pink dress, drank in her first sight of London with wide, emerald eyes.

"Well, shall we?"

---------------------------

"You must understand, Minerva, that the position is open to no one else," the man told the older woman gently. He was a tired man with sandy brown hair and amber eyes in robes that must have seen better days. In spite of his obvious exhaustion, he spoke with much conviction. "The Order is in shambles. We need a leader, and that leader is you."

The woman smiled ruefully. Her face was starting to wrinkle and her lips betrayed long years that were without cause for joy. "It seems so long ago when _I_ was the one offering you advice, Remus. My answer is still no. Why not Alastor?"

"Mad-Eye is what his name betrays. I've heard from old veterans that he was quite the war leader in his day but those days are long gone. If he takes the reins, we would spend our days training like Aurors until the Dark Lord comes knocking on our door and we blast him out of existence. The kind of leadership Moody offers is not what we need."

Minerva sighed. "I will think about it."

It was Remus' time to smile sadly. "There is no thinking about it, Minerva. You don't have a choice. There really is no one else."

She pursed her lips, anger flashing in her eyes. "You can't just--" she started, then stopped to assess the situation. The Dark Lord was gaining power everywhere, the raids on important families, attacks in Muggle London, deaths of magical children, deaths of influential Ministry officials, the Order of the Phoenix in disarray without a leader... "Very well. I see your point," she conceded in clipped tones.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't give me any of that, Remus. I _have_ been neglecting my responsibilities." Minerva said. "What do you propose we do about Hogwarts?"

Lupin managed a small grin. "Now, that's what I'm talking about. We'd have to bring that topic up before the whole Order."

"I cannot manage being the leader of the Order and Headmistress at the same time. Not to mention that I've lost my deputy headmaster to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," she added darkly. "I believe that Hogwarts should be closed next school year. We could probably turn it into headquarters. The wards are more powerful there."

"A good point. We should set up an Order meeting, preferably in two days, if that's amenable to you."

"Two days would be fine."

Remus nodded and flicked his wand. A wolf Patronus emerged before him with its head raised for confirmation. He bent towards it and said, "Order meeting on Wednesday, Grimmauld Place." The wolf let out a small whimper then leapt away. "I'll Floo the others."

"Thank you, Remus."

"No problem. Then there's the pressing matter of what to do with Harry."

Minerva's countenance darkened. "That boy is too reckless for his own good. Well, I think that Moody's paranoia should be handy in tempering his rashness. Merlin, taking walks at night without supervision... _Apparating!_"

"I'll tell Moody that he has a new apprentice, then?" Remus chuckled.

"Please do."

Remus bowed and Disapparated with a _crack!_

She closed her eyes and rubbed small circles on her forehead. _Damn you, Albus, why did you have to die?_

---------------------------

Note:_  
_

_Well. _Caught in the Storm _is really just some random plot bunny that morphed. I think everyone's tired of the CCS-squad-goes-to-Hogwarts plot (heck, I tried that in 2002?). It's been a long time since I've written anything substantial, so any constructive criticism is welcome. I wrote this on the wing since the only copy I had of it was in the other laptop which conveniently died. I had a better summary in that copy too. This one is just… sad. And by the way, I've forgotten how the flight system works so I would appreciate any help there._


	2. Chapter One Setting the Board

Standard disclaimer applies.

** CAUGHT IN THE STORM**  
CHAPTER ONE - SETTING THE BOARD

It seemed, Eriol thought, that things were really getting out of hand. He settled himself onto the chair, ignoring Nakuru who was humming under her breath as she flipped the pancakes, and frowned at the mocking headline of the newspaper.

"SEVERAL GRAVEYARDS IN YORK FOUND EMPTY"

_ Last night found several inhabitants of Harrogate shifting _

_ uneasily in their sleep. Brian Wesley, a middle-aged farm _

_ owner, claims that the townfolk have been hearing strange _

_ noises from the neighboring graveyard._

_ "We don't want nothing to do with all that funny business," _

_ Mrs. Wesley says. "My Brian tries to investigate but I tells him _

_ no. Something funny about that place." No one has tried to _

_ approach the graveyard; the people claim that they feel the _

_ fear "coming off the place in waves". Some brave children say _

_ that they have seen a circle of red light before running back _

_ to their homes. David Burne, 39, mentions seeing a "green _

_ skull eating a snake" above the graveyard._

_ In the morning, the graveyard was found empty. Most of the _

_ tombstones were knocked down and the soil dug up. The _

_ coffins were wide open and vacant.  
_

_ There are many speculations about... (cont. page 2)_

"More strange things, huh," Nakuru commented as she handed Eriol his mug of coffee. He made a 'hmm' of assent, still scowling thoughtfully.

"Where are Sakura and Syaoran?" he asked, sipping his coffee and setting down the paper.

"Still asleep," came the reply from the kitchen door. Spinel was dragging a gagged Keroberos who was making every effort to scream his lungs out. "I managed to get this idiot out before he disturbed their sleep."

Eriol thanked him and beckoned to Keroberos with a hand. Kero flew towards him sulkily, surreptitiously eyeing the growing pile of pancakes and the pancake syrup. "You'll have some of that later," he promised with a chuckle, untying Kero's gag. "Now, I have a few questions to ask."

"But I'm hungry! Sakura forgot to slip me some food while she was on the plane and the brat didn't remind her. I bet he forgot too!" And as if to corroborate this, Kero's stomach growled loudly. He started to fly over to the pile of pancakes, a look of supreme anticipation on his face. He was swatted away by Nakuru.

"No touching my pancakes until I say so!"

Eriol smiled crookedly, feeling lost as the catfight between his two guardians (one present and one former) escalated. "Nakuru, please give Keroberos some pancakes."

Nakuru pouted at him, swatting Kero as he punched a small fist into the air, screaming, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about, yeah!" Reluctantly, she handed him a plate of four pancakes and a hefty amount of syrup. Kero began gobbling it up hungrily. Having lost that battle, she turned towards Spinel who was lazing about on the sink. She grabbed the bottle of pancake syrup and leered over the black cat guardian. "Oh Suppi"

As she chased Spinel out of the kitchen, Eriol turned towards Keroberos. "Satisfied?"

"Not hungry anymore," the guardian said happily, rubbing his bloated stomach but still looking at the pancakes.

"Good," Eriol said, shoving the newspaper into Kero's face. "Now tell me what you think of this."

He helped himself to more coffee as his furry little guardian scanned the newspaper. He knew there was something sinister afoot in England, knew it in his gut. Hurricanes that were not predicted by the weather specialists, ever thickening mist during the day, people losing memories of days at a time, and the ever-present Skull-and-Snake emblem emblazoned on the night sky amidst all the murders, reeked exclusively of... magic. Which was strange since he was, to his knowledge, the only sorcerer on the face of England. Although he _knew_ there was something else he was missing—a piece of information he had when he was Clow Reed, which he had swept away into the recesses of his mind, held under lock and key.

"Hmm," Kero said carefully.

"Got anything?"

"Hmm," Kero answered.

A few minutes of silence passed, in which Eriol finished his coffee and his guardian read the remaining articles in the newspaper. As he was about to fetch some plates and set the table (it was already eight o'clock—Sakura and Syaoran should be up by now), Keroberos spoke up, "What's happening, Eriol? What have you been doing? This just screams magic."

"So I was right," Eriol murmured. To Kero, he said, "I've not been doing anything. I'm as uninformed as you are."

There was a question hidden there. Keroberos had been Clow Reed's guardian. He should know something. The key turned.

"It's been a long time," he started, "but I remember you mentioning a hidden magical community in England. All over Europe, in fact."

Eriol bristled at Kero's casual reference to him as Clow Reed. Before he could say anything, a resounding set of footsteps alerted him to Sakura and Syaoran's arrival.

"Eriol, have you seen Kero-chan? I've been looking for him everywhere--oh!" Sakura stopped, startled, as Kero flew over to her and started complaining about how badly he'd been mistreated at the plane, pausing only to glare at Syaoran as if to make a point.

"Good morning, Syaoran, Sakura," Eriol greeted amiably.

While Sakura was preoccupied with Kero, Syaoran took a seat opposite Eriol, mumbling a good morning incoherently, his sleep-tousled look begging for coffee. Eriol made his way to the coffee maker and poured Syaoran, who was looking at him as if he were the Savior Almighty, a generous cup.

"Thanks," Syaoran said gruffly.

"You're welcome," Eriol quipped cheerily. "Now, we should really have some breakfast. I wonder where Nakuru and Spinel are."

On cue, Nakuru and Suppi burst into the kitchen, still chasing and being chased, respectively. Eriol sighed. "Both of you. Breakfast. Now."

His two guardians stopped and approached the table, Nakuru with her head bowed and Spinel with an arrogant flick of his tail. Sakura sat beside Syaoran, having pacified her guardian with apologies and sweets. Nakuru started doling out four pancakes to each of the table's inhabitants. The pancake syrup was passed around in silence, except for sounds of Kero's hearty appreciation of Nakuru's cooking.

"You're missing a guardian, Sakura-san," Eriol remarked after his first pancake. "How is Yue these days?"

"He's fine; he doesn't come out that much anymore because things have been really quiet all these years. Yukito-san is teaching Algebra now, did you know?" Sakura replied, smiling fondly. "Sometimes Touya complains that he feels Yue is watching them when they... err, you know. I wonder if there's a way to transfer Yue into another body."

"Well, you should be able to figure out a way. I know Clow Reed made some notes on how he made his guardians; they're somewhere in the attic. Shall I look for them?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful, Eriol-kun! Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed.

Eriol nodded, smiling, then turned to Syaoran. "Li-san, I heard you turned down Clan responsibility yet again."

His brown-haired descendant shifted apprehensively. "I'm still eighteen."

"But I thought you talked to your mother about this, Syaoran," Sakura said, worried.

"I did," Syaoran said with finality. "I told her I didn't want to be Clan Leader. At least, not now."

Sakura sighed unhappily. Eriol realized that this was a long-standing issue between the two of them.

"Well, we shouldn't be worrying about that. You're supposed to be on holiday," he said diplomatically. "Anyway, I have some concerns I wish to discuss with you."

He looked at his two guests and found them listening attentively. "Recently, there have been... incidents of the most puzzling and dangerous sort." He pointed to the newspaper, where the headline sat, bold and unmoving. "Grave digging is only one. Mysterious, unconnected deaths of influential politicians and unobtrusive civilians, babies and young children disappearing, unanticipated hurricanes, eerie mist, people experiencing hallucinations and nightmares during the day are only a few of the many things happening in England. I did not mean to invite you to such a dangerous place but until now, I have been convinced that these were all coincidences.

"I suspected that these are all connected to some magical activity, but I could go no further than that because, until Keroberos told me otherwise, I was convinced that I was the only magic-user in the British Isles. This is not true. Apparently, there is a community of wizards living in secret all over Europe. It is them, I reckon, who are causing all these disturbances, though I do not know what their reasons are. It would be best that you bring your cards, Sakura-san, wherever you go. Li-san, your sword is too conspicuous; you'll have to make do with your ofuda."

Eriol noticed that Syaoran was progressively getting angrier. He waited for the outburst. It came in five seconds. "What are you playing at, Hiiragizawa? Is this one of your elaborate schemes to 'test Sakura'?"

"I assure you, Syaoran, that I intend no such thing. Sakura is already very powerful—more powerful than I am, in any case—and her powers still continue to grow. I am merely saying that I was wrong to invite you to England at such a time. If you wish to stay here for a few more weeks, then I suggest that you be prepared to face dangers, no matter how unlikely. If you do not, I will book a flight back for you to Japan."

Syaoran huffed and fell back into his seat, crossing his arms. Sakura stroked his shoulder gently, telling Eriol, "I don't think anything will happen to us while we're here and especially when you're here, so we'll stay. If anything goes wrong, I do have my Cards. It will always be all right!"

"Right, Syaoran-kun?" she asked, beaming at him. The boy nodded his head, blushing. She turned her sunny grin to Eriol. "Okay, so where are we off to today, Eriol-kun?"

Eriol grinned at his darling successor and his cute descendant. _Yes, things would be all right. _

---------------------------

Minerva McGonagall had always been a staunch second-in-command, the not-quite-leader and the not-quite-follower with a loyalty worthy of any Hufflepuff. In fact, Severus (at this, she released a snarl) once teased her that she should have ended up in Hufflepuff because she was so bloody fair-minded ("I pity your Gryffindors," he had said) and loyal to a fault. She had laughed good-naturedly and informed him that the Sorting Hat did indeed consider putting her in Hufflepuff, if not for her "sheer bull-headedness". Severus had smirked at her and billowed out of the staff room. She waited for the next time he complained that no one could understand Slytherins before telling him that, in the end, the Sorting Hat was faced with two choices: Slytherin or Gryffindor.

But ultimately, the Sorting Hat had placed her in Gryffindor, the House of the courageous, brave and stubborn. Funny how all that seemed to desert her now, when she needed it most, when the people around her needed it most.

Her thoughts went back to the war that had claimed so many innocents: the Bones, the McKinnons, the Prewetts, amid countless others. Then the more personal wounds: her parents lost to the Entrail-Expelling Curse at the hands of Jacob Yaxley (she had experienced a savage joy in turning him into a Flobberworm and blasting him out of existence), Moody (a Severing Charm), Dearborn who was never found, Alice and Frank Longbottom insane from the Cruciatus Curse, Lily and James Potter dead from the Killing Curse, Sirius wrongfully accused... her hands clenched painfully.

Fawkes, who had felt the sudden surge of powerful emotions, crooned at her from his perch. _... and now, Dumbledore. _

She gazed out the window of the Headmaster's office, eyes sweeping from the grounds to the Forbidden Forest. In her mind's eye, she envisioned the Forbidden Forest as a towering inferno—Hogwarts, the last bastion against Voldemort, spells colliding, giants, centaurs, dragons, Aurors, Death Eaters, students, teachers, _children_, and all the dead in between.

She would do anything to prevent that from happening.

_And Severus Snape will answer my questions when I get my claws on him. _

---------------------------

The Firewhisky burned his throat. One of the wonderful things about this particular concoction was that no matter how much of it you'd been drinking in the past _what? five hours?_ it wouldn't stop feeling like someone incanting an Incendio down your esophagus. Since the brain would be largely preoccupied by the _fuck it hurts_ feeling, it would not have time to think of things such as killing Dumbledore under his own orders and making everyone think he was some traitor. No, nothing like that. And it left him too stoned to think about it once he woke up. That was an added bonus.

As he reached for the next Firewhisky—_how long did it take him to finish the last one?_—a burning sensation started somewhere that was not his throat. No. It was coming from his left forearm.

With movements borne out of practice, Severus Snape summoned all his self-control, pulled out his wand and Accio-ed a hangover potion. It flew from his medicine cabinets and straight into his hand. He downed it all in one gulp and felt his light-headedness recede.

The Dark Mark was still burning. Severus cursed Albus and damned whatever god had sent him into this hellish existence, and promptly Apparated.

---------------------------

Note:

_Eriol sounds like Dumbledore. I don't suppose Clow Reed and Dumbledore are distantly related, are they? XD Anyway, it's amusing to note that this fic is on the alerts of four people while I get only two reviews. Reviews are lovely, and constructive criticism is even lovelier. :3 _

_I had a spot of problem writing out McGonagall's scene, so if anything seems disjointed there, it's because I wrote it in bits and pieces and I didn't really know anything about McGonagall. (I haven't thought out her life story—I've not even thought of the _entire _story.)_

_Anyway, it's been a long time since I watched CCS or read the manga. I forgot how Eriol addressed Syaoran and Sakura, and vice versa. In any case, this takes place around six or so years after the series. Things are bound to change. _

_And yes, I like Snape. _


End file.
